The Ring of the Red Chamber and the Nine Heavens

Today, although it was late autumn, it was a rare warm sun. Jia Huan and Daiyu accompanied Lin Ruhai in an open place in the back garden, basking in the warm sun while savoring the light fragrance but long aftertaste. Solanum nigrum tea, while talking about the world and the north.

After a while, I suddenly saw a gatekeeper rushing over and said out of breath, "Master, master! The magistrate Wu is here."

Lin Ruhai was startled, why did Prefect Wu come to the door in person so sooner or later?He immediately said: "Invite Mr. Wu into the middle hall quickly, and tell me that I will come right away."

The gatekeeper agreed, and hurriedly ran back to deliver the message.

Lin Ruhai said: "Yu'er, go back to your room first. Huan'er, help me to see the prefect of Wu."

Jia Huan thought he heard it wrong, and asked hesitantly, "Am I going too? Also, won't uncle change his official uniform?"

Lin Ruhai smiled, and said: "I have a friendship with the prefect Wu, and we are also close friends. Since he came to my house, and I am sick, it doesn't matter if I wear this homely clothes."

Jia Huan agreed, and called two servants to bring over a bamboo chair, helped Lin Ruhai to sit on it, and followed the chair all the way to the central hall.When they reached the door, Jia Huan helped Lin Ruhai down again, and helped him into the middle hall.

Wu Zhifu was turning around with his hands behind his back in the middle hall of the Lin Mansion. When he saw Lin Ruhai, he strode towards him and said with concern: "Brother Ruhai, your complexion is much better than when I came last time. ah."

Jia Huan thought to himself, since they only asked about his condition when they first met, it seems that the prefect Wu really has a good relationship with his uncle, and he doesn't use an official accent like "my lord" coming and going "my lord".

Seeing that Magistrate Wu glanced at Jia Huan when he was talking, Lin Ruhai first introduced: "Brother Xie Zhizhou is concerned. This is my nephew. It is fortunate that he is with me during this time. It's done fairly well, brother Zhizhou can just say, don't shy away from his presence, although he is young, he is still sensible and won't talk too much."

Wu Zhifu knew that Lin Ruhai had no children and had this serious illness again. It could almost be said that he came back after wandering around before the gate of hell, and it was common for a junior relative to accompany him all the time.

Afterwards, Lin Ruhai smiled again and said: "Ruhai survived a catastrophe this time, and now it is expected to be all right. If it gets better some other day, we must set up a few tables of banquets and prepare a few glasses of good wine. Thank you Zhizhou Xian Brothers and colleagues."

Prefect Wu said absent-mindedly: "It's easy to talk, easy to talk, I will definitely come when the time comes. Hey, I'm here today to talk about an important matter."

Lin Ruhai hurriedly said, "Brother Zhizhou, please tell me."

Wu Zhifu said: "This matter is not due to my brother-in-law in the capital. We are still kept in the dark. It is said that the king of Qin has received the holy order to come to Yangzhou, and he is already on the way. It is estimated to be half a month. It's about to reach our border. I don't know why King Qin didn't send out the notice. He came here secretly. Why do I feel that this matter is a bit..."

Prefect Wu didn't continue to speak, because it was just a matter of pointing out what to say in the officialdom, and if you talk too much, you will lose it.This Lin Ruhai has invaded the official world for many years, and he also understood the meaning: King Qin came to Yangzhou in secret, and he didn't know why he came here. After all, he didn't come to invite us to drink, and it probably didn't do anything good.As the chief local official, Prefect Wu came to discuss with someone because he couldn't figure out the purpose of King Qin's trip.

Wu Zhifu said: "I was an official in the capital for a short time, so I don't know much about these princes, but Brother Ruhai, I'm afraid you have seen the King of Qin before?"

Lin Ruhai raised his head, his eyes were far away, as if he was recalling, and said: "I saw it when I was an official in the capital. At that time, King Qin was still a child. It's a pity that he was only five or six years old at that time, but he looked like a child." An adult, with a small face as tense as this white porcelain tea bowl, that posture is quite enough! However, no matter how noble, he lost his mother (mother) since he was young, alas..."

Wu Zhifu hurriedly echoed and said: "Isn't it? I'm three years old and old. I heard that the King of Qin has always been dignified and serious, and he is courageous and resolute in situations. No matter how big an official is, he will not lie. The officials in the capital are afraid of him." So, hearing him coming this time, I really don't know what to do. Alas, I think it's better for everyone to be careful, don't make him unhappy, go back and write down our A few strokes will be troublesome. Originally, you were sick, and I didn't want to work on you, but now that King Qin is here, maybe no matter how sick you are, you will have to hang around."

Lin Ruhai immediately said: "That's natural. Anyone who can get up will definitely go. No one dares to neglect the King of Qin unless he wants to retire. Thank you Brother Zhizhou for your reminder."

Wu Zhifu frowned and said: "What do you think should be done about this matter? The King of Qin came without notice. Should we pretend to work hard in the yamen and work hard? Or follow other imperial envoys?" Like an adult, how about going to the reception hall early to greet him?"

Lin Ruhai murmured, and said: "Since the King of Qin didn't issue an announcement, why don't we simply pretend that we don't know, and do what we should do in the yamen."

Wu Zhifu sighed again and again, and finally said: "I don't dare to take risks. The last time the third prince came to our place, he ate and played, and finally beat us, saying that we did not entertain well. Although King Qin's identity The third prince is much taller, but, brother, there are some similarities. I dare not be careless."

It's hard for Lin Ruhai to say, after all, although he has met King Qin when he was a child, it's really hard to say what kind of character he is now.Besides, I don't know why King Qin came here. If he misunderstood King Qin's intentions and didn't go to greet him, King Qin would feel neglected and neglected, and all the local officials in Yangzhou couldn't stand it.

Wu Zhifu said considerately: "On the day when King Qin came, I dare not be careless. All local officials in Yangzhou must be ordered to meet them at the Jieguan Pavilion at the entrance of the post road. I have to ask someone to clean up the place. Yes, I wondered how long I would have to wait there for the day I greet you, you can't stand the cold, so why not just wait in the lobby of the government office, and I will explain it to you and the King of Qin when the time comes."

Lin Ruhai quickly thanked her.

After Wu Zhifu said goodbye and went out, Lin Ruhai thought for a while, then suddenly looked at Jia Huan and said, "Huan'er, I just saw your eyeballs rolling around, and you looked fascinated, so I wanted to ask you, do you know King Qin?" Is it? Why do you look so curious?"

Jia Huan smiled and said, "I don't know each other. I'm really just curious. I also have a small idea, Uncle Mo Xiao. I think that if you want to go into an official career in the future, if you become a big official , it is inevitable to deal with these princes and princes, it is always good to know more about the situation."

Lin Ruhai pointed at Jia Huan and said with a smile: "You monkey, you are really talking big! What is the identity of the prince? Even if you won three yuan in a row and won the first prize, after the glory is over, you are just working as an errand in the Imperial Academy. I want to be with you To deal with the prince, you have to spend at least ten years in the officialdom!"

Jia Huan smiled without saying a word, and finally said: "Uncle said yes, I was exaggerating. However, I guessed the purpose of King Qin's visit, but I don't know if it is right. Let's listen to uncle, and we will do it later." Let's verify."

Lin Ruhai was startled, Su Rong said: "You should tell me."

Jia Huan said with a smile: "When I was in the capital, I once sent an official document for my father to the Yamen of the Ministry of Industry. It happened that King Qin went to the Ministry of Industry to inspect it. Later, I heard from my father that he came back to know that King Qin was originally for Cheng Anjiang. He left because of the flood. Later, the king of Qin led the Ministry of Industry to run a business mission for two consecutive months. Finally, the flood was fixed and the embankment was repaired. I wondered if he came this time, is it the same as the last time? What is the relationship between the errands? I heard you say that King Qin always feels that he is a person who pursues perfection. Since the embankment was built well last time, will he rush to do a good job of resettling the victims? ?”

Lin Ruhai was thoughtful, and said, "Resettlement of the victims? Does this have anything to do with our Yangzhou boundary? It's so far away..."

Jia Huan smiled again and said, "Yangzhou is the richest city in the world, and the whole country knows it. Of course, the most coveted one is the salt department."

Lin Ruhai reacted with a start, clapped his hands and said, "Huan'er, you're so clever, you've even figured out this! Don't you? He came to Yangzhou to raise funds for disaster relief!"

Being able to win over the big players in the officialdom and the sincere words of praise from Mr. Tanhualin from the previous dynasty, Jia Huan also felt slightly proud, and couldn't help saying: "Then it's no wonder he didn't issue a notice, and went in secret! It was because he was afraid of scaring the snake, because The officials here have always benefited from the salt merchants, and they must help the salt merchants fight against the imperial court, and they are not willing to raise the money for disaster relief!"

Lin Ruhai nodded and said, "That's right, merchants, it's too early to be profitable. Salt merchants would rather use it to bribe officials than spend an extra penny to give relief to the victims. Although King Qin is majestic and strict, this errand It's difficult."

Jia Huan said with some fascination: "Punish corrupt officials, kill the rich and help the poor, all in the name of the imperial court! It's a pity that I don't have an official position, otherwise I really want to participate in this tough battle in real life, so I have to contribute my strength." Uncle, you don’t know. When I sent Sister Lin over, I passed by the flooded provinces and cities. Seeing the victims being displaced, I felt pity. Now that the severe winter is approaching, the victims will starve to death if they can’t resettle well. Everywhere!" Speaking of the latter part, Jia Huan's tone was full of compassion.

----------Dividing line----------

ten days later.

In the cold wind, Wu Zhizhou, the magistrate of Yangzhou, led a group of Yangzhou officials wearing official hats and uniforms to wait outside the newly decorated reception hall, with anxious eyes sweeping outside the door from time to time.

The passage outside the door is covered with a long red carpet, which is connected with the post road.

Several officials couldn't bear the cold wind and chill, and muttered below: "Why hasn't King Qin arrived yet? We've been waiting for three or four hours."

"Master Lin is still comfortable, just sitting in the lobby of the government office, drinking hot tea while waiting, we will be unlucky, our brains will hurt from being blown by this wind knife!"

"Master Lin is ill, don't you know? Let's make sarcastic remarks!"

Everyone was waiting anxiously, when they suddenly saw a team of yamen servants rushing over, saluted first, and reported to the prefect of Wu: "Master Wu! The prince has arrived!"

All the officials panicked and asked, "What's going on?"

The leading yamen servant said: "I don't know, maybe the lord didn't take this post road, but passed by some small road. In short, the lord is already in the mansion, waiting for your lords!"

For a while, all the officials were in a mess, and the voices of "prepare the horse!" and "prepare the sedan chair!" were heard endlessly.

Here, King Qin and Lin Ruhai who were just waiting in the government office met each other. After sitting down, King Qin took the manuscript presented by Lin Ruhai and asked, "Are you Lin Hai, the inspector of salt in Yangzhou?"

After Lin Ruhai knelt down and bowed, he was tremblingly supported by Jia Huan, and said: "My lord, my next official is Lin Hai, the censor of salt inspection in Yangzhou."

The king of Qin's eyes swept across Jia Huan's body, and the meaning of the question was obvious.

Lin Ruhai said: "This is Xiaguan's nephew. Because Xiaguan is sick and weak, my nephew has always been with Xiaguan and never leaves. Unexpectedly, the prince will arrive early, so my nephew will be able to avoid it in the future. Please forgive me, Xiaguan. Tell him to wait in the inner hall."

Qin Wang said lightly: "No need. Mr. Lin is sick and sick, but he still insists on doing errands, and cooperates with Xiao Wang to solve the people's difficulties. The spirit is commendable, and it is good to have someone to accompany him."

Lin Ruhai quickly pushed Jia Huan and said, "You still don't want to thank the Lord for your kindness?"

Jia Huan knelt down and thanked the King of Qin, and obtained the qualification to attend this good show that was about to start in a fair manner.

When Jia Huan stood up and secretly raised his eyes to look up, it happened that King Qin's eyes were also on him. Jia Huan seemed to see a smile flashing by quickly, and then the certain king returned to his calm state. It looks like a startled iceberg.

He doesn't seem to have face blindness this time, but he still remembers me!Jia Huan sniggered in his heart, but quickly adjusted back to his normal state of mind: Hmph, it doesn't matter if you remember it or not, the young master has a righteous outlook and integrity, and he has no idea about a man with a family!However, who told this bastard to have such a good face, how could it be embarrassing for me to be the president of the Appearance Association!